Paul Szmal: Finger Lakes country WFL are with the punch brothers. There is their new release found in a frozen fog off the new album called the Unsung adventures of the punch brothers which comes out on July 24th But we get to see them at point of the bluff in Hammondsport next Sunday as they undertake its largest North American tour since 2019 and joining us this afternoon. We've got Chris Eldridge. How are you doing Chris?
Guest: I'm doing great. Thank you. Thanks for joining us.
Paul Szmal: This is a wild album
Guest: Yeah, it was it was a really fun record to make and write and it it is kind of a big It was a massive undertaking and we kind of were writing the songs over the course of a couple years Really? We had this we were making this Podcast I don't think anybody knew about it. Even our like big fans somehow it didn't Penetrate into the world who knows how you actually supposed to communicate with people in the age of social media If you're you know over 40 but anyway, so we made this podcast and we were generating all this new music and so we had this giant reservoir of music to work from and Then when it came time to do a new record We kind of took our favorite parts of that and tried to build it into into something cohesive.
Paul Szmal: So cool This is the first all instrumental punch brothers album. What did you discover about the band when you removed lyrics and vocals from the equation?
Guest: Mmm, it's a good question. I think You know, it's interesting when you're playing vocal music The vocal is always going to be the star Not necessarily the vocalist but just I mean the vocalist too but but like the song the word the human voice is kind of always really at the center and When you play instrumental music It's really not the same kind of thing The the kind of center of gravity kind of shifts and is a lot more fluid It can kind of distribute through different musicians different Voices, you know, and I'm saying voices now like an instrumental voice a person a human's voice kind of through their instrument, but the the music kind of Kind of flows a lot differently In a way that was really really fun. And I think it kind of kept us all on our toes maybe even more than usual And yeah, it was just it was it was very very fun.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, it's a different experience. We've tried it I mean, I think when people think of our band they probably think of Playing first, I mean, I think that's what One of the distinctive things about us is that we're all kind of real serious players But we've kind of played vocal music our entire career and so it's really it's really nice to kind of get to Lean into an instrumental record We've tried to do it in the past and it never it never felt to us like it came Together the way it came together for this one.
Guest: All right, because with no lyrics to guide the listener I was wondering like how do you shape emotion and tension and humor or a nerd of insight and instrumental arrangement?
Paul Szmal: Oh Man, well, it's hard. I don't know how to in the short confines of an interview I have no idea. I don't even know long interview before I've had to write a treatise I don't know if I should answer that but But but somehow you do it's really cool. You know, I think part of it is that with instrumental music The There's a lot more Participation there's a lot more as my BAMI Chris Beely often says co-creation I like that term when you're talking when you're talking about this, you know with the listener It's sort of like when you're reading a book You know a whole world kind of springs before your eyes when you find yourself really immersed and a world kind of emerges and I feel like I feel like Instrumental music is particularly good at doing that same thing Like if you have the time to actually close your eyes and pay attention to it Then there's a whole There's a whole world and you kind of define as the listener what that is and as long as we've done our job in terms of just Creating a world worthy of stepping into and a world worthy of your attention Then I think I think you know, it just kind of happens.
Guest: Yeah for whoever's receiving it nice
Paul Szmal: Well, I know you added a puncher sister to the band Brittany Haas
Guest: Yeah, how's that?
Paul Szmal: Has Brittany's fiddled changed the writing room or their raging process or even the kinds of risks that you guys take?
Guest: Absolutely, Britt Britt has totally changed the band. It's a new chapter and Yeah, she she has just kind of invigorated things just she's you know, Brittany for those who aren't familiar with her It is one of the most Extraordinary fiddlers quite literally on planet Earth and she she's just she's just such a powerful musician and She you know, she's kind of a master of all of these different fiddle styles from you know American a bunch of American styles Nordic styles You know all kinds of stuff. And so she just brings it's a new it's a new voice and she's also so powerful she's so able to just execute everything like a like a great classical soloist like truly and And yet she's gritty and of the earth and you hear it just kind of stops in your track So it's been and she and Paul Court our bass player have a long musical relationship. They have another band Together called Hawktail.
Paul Szmal: Oh, wow
Guest: And so they've played together for many years and you know, Paul uses the bow on his bass a lot So they've kind of got this crazy thing that they can do Wow together, which was kind of like a new like a new Tool in the band's toolbox nice That they have such a singular thing. They do so it's been really awesome. We're just so thrilled So it's always nice to have more ladies around. Anyway, what one more tough one for you? Each of you in your own right is known as a virtuoso, but the band's music depends on restraint as much as fireworks So, how do you decide when a piece needs space rather than another big musical statement?
Paul Szmal: Mmm, yeah cool question. Well, you know, I think again, it's one of those things. It's it's just kind of like It's just something you you kind of just work on it until it feels right um You know and we all love music. So we're any musician is A music listener first, you know, I think you know I I certainly identify as somebody who loves music and loves listening to music and it always has More than I identify as someone who makes music. I mean, that's that's up there but it kind of comes second and so I think when you're in the process of creating you're you're kind of constantly Toggling between you know, let me making something and somebody Listening to something somebody appreciating something and so so, you know it's just a real process of hearing the stuff that's happening and trying to You know you listen to it and you get to a point and you're like, ah, that was great Perfect move on or you get to that point. You're like Quite right and you just kind of work on it Beat your head against the wall so the answer comes It's not a very it's not a very sexy process. I mean, it's just it's real it's work, you know But it's it's a work that we feel really Privileged to get to do nice for me This album has a very warm feeling to it, which is surprising because you recorded this in the fall and winter in Vermont Did that affect the sound or mood of the sessions at all?
Guest: Oh Man well sort of I don't know if the I don't know if the time of year did but definitely being in Vermont did It was um, so we recorded it at this incredible studio called Guilford sound which is just like the most awesome studio I've ever been to in my career of doing this stuff and the deal is it's on 400 acres up in rural Vermont and You stay on site and and every morning when we would get up We would actually you there's like a little hike to get to the studio It's it's eight minutes and you could drive if you wanted to but why would you you know, you take you hike through this like Magical, I mean, it's it's this amazing path And they've really kind of curated the space It literally just feels Through the woods and you kind of had that restoration of being in nature. You know how if you're in nature, it's just everything is better Uh-huh Like if you have the opportunity, I live in Nashville in the city I love Nashville, but but you know, I need to find myself in a park Oh sometimes wait, wait, do you see where you're gonna be performing next Sunday?
Paul Szmal: Absolutely gorgeous You're coming to the one of the most gorgeous venues I've ever been to
Guest: Yeah, I cannot wait for that And so when we got to just walk every morning to the studio You know walk you the birds you just in nature There's not really a road that you're on when you're doing that if you're just in it And I feel like that kind of really put us in a different headspace Like I never want to make another record anywhere else Because because that piece of the process was actually so cool and I think so important it's like one of those weird things that It seems like it wouldn't matter but but when you're making music, it's you're just trying to capture a feel You're trying to capture an energy a moment And so like it's you got to work on making the music itself good all the nuts and bolts the architecture of it But ultimately what you've really got to capture is just something that Makes you feel something and and to do that You got to open up the door for God to walk into the room You got to like prep yourself for that and though So kind of doing it this way was really really a big piece of that.
Paul Szmal: Very cool The new album is called the unsung adventures of the punch brothers. It arrives July 24th But we get to see them at point-of-the-bluff in Hammondsport on Sunday July 19th for tickets head over to concerts at POB calm and to get the album head over to punch brothers Calm Chris Eldridge. Thank you so much for joining our show.
Guest: Oh Man thanks so much for having me. It's nice talking to you and are really looking forward to being up there
Paul Szmal: Oh, we can't wait to see we're gonna leave you guys with another track of a great title for an instrumental Here is new bike. We're finger licks country. WFL are
